


Is There a Doctor on this Bus?

by theplatinthehat



Series: The Doctor and The Cellist [5]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Bus, Gen, the doctor can't go anywhere, waiting for the bus in the rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:00:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24003988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theplatinthehat/pseuds/theplatinthehat
Summary: Birmingham, 2011Cat catches a bus and meets an old friend with a new face.Unfortunately for them, someone else finds him too.
Relationships: Eleventh Doctor & Original Female Character(s), The Doctor (Doctor Who) & Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Doctor and The Cellist [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1704577
Kudos: 2





	Is There a Doctor on this Bus?

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: scientist, a bus, fixing something

Cursing the rain, her lecturer and herself for choosing this life, Cat sprints for the bus. She should just about make it, provided that the bus hasn’t decided to run early for once in its miserable existence – otherwise she’ll be waiting for a very damp fifteen minutes. Her hard cello-case, a fairly recent acquisition, smacks the back of her legs as she runs and Cat just knows they will bruise horribly by the end of the day.

Thankfully, the bus is waiting patiently at the stop and she jogs over with a huge, relieved grin.

“Hi, Dolores,” Cat greets, recognizing the driver in an instant. “Aren’t you normally on the night bus on Fridays?”

“Normally, yes,” agrees Dolores, “but Colin is sick today and begged me to cover for him. And who am I to turn an old friend down? Oh, don’t fret, my dear – I know you have a bus pass. Go grab a seat next to a heater.”

Cat sighs with a weary smile. “Thanks, Dolores. You’re a real one.”

“I sure am,” the driver laughs, pressing a button on the panel in front of her with a _bleep!_ The engine starts up with a rumble, and the bus pulls out of the stop.

Cat swings the cello off her back, and places it in the seat next to her – giving it a slight push to ensure that it remains in place. She sits back, exhales loudly and shuts her eyes. It’s an hour’s bus journey to her cello teacher – but well worth it. She may just have a little nap.

She would, at least, if the person at the back of the bus would _stop muttering._

With a scowl, Cat looks around to see what on earth this joker could be complaining about. He’s sat in the very middle of the back row, hunched over some kind of metal orb which he is prodding repetitively with a screwdriver. He has a very peculiar dress sense, like a particularly whacky English teacher; tweed jacket, suspenders and a maroon bowtie. His hair, a warm brown, is swept to one side and looks as though it’s not been combed for a while.

Cat smiles.

Although she has never seen this man before, she knows _exactly_ who he is. Cat stands and walks over to the man.

“Hello, Doctor.”

The Doctor looks up at Cat and two emotions flash across his face. Befuddlement followed by pure joy.

“Cat Nicholls!” he cries, jumping up and wrapping her in a hug – one which she eagerly returns. “I should have known! Who else takes a cello on a bus?”

“A lot of people do, Doctor.”

“Ah, well, you’re the only person I know. And look,” he says, pointing over to the aforementioned cello, “I see you got that new case you wanted. Although I thought you were going for pink?”

“No, _you_ wanted me to get a pink one. I wanted a black one, and that’s what I got.”

“Fair enough I suppose.”

“I see you’ve got a new face.”

At the mention of his regeneration, the Doctor rubs his hands over his face – taking in the contours of his chin, cheekbones and nose. “Yes, I have, haven’t I? Do you like it?”

“ ‘Salright,” Cat shrugs.

“Yes… although still not ginger.”

“There’s always hair dye?”

“That’s not the point, Cat Nicholls,” he quips back. “I want ginger hair – is that too much to ask?”

Cat doesn’t reply, knowing that this topic of conversation will just get them into an aimless loop. Instead, she gestures down to the metal orb and asks,

“What’s that?”

“Oh,” the Doctor replies, sounding thoroughly unimpressed with the device, “it’s broken.”

“Yes, but what does it actually do?”

“Erm… timey-wimey…”

“Spacey-wacey, alright – so you don’t wanna tell me.” Cat thinks for a moment. “Let’s try this. What are you doing on this bus?”

“I’m looking for someone,” he says chirpily, “and that’s what this thing is _meant_ to be helping me with, but the wretched thing isn’t working.”

“Why don’t you just sonic it?” Cat asks, grabbing onto a pole as the bus slams to a halt.

The Doctor sighs. “Because my sonic screwdriver is with the person I’m looking for, hence – ”

He leaves the sentence unfinished, and instead chooses to gesticulate wildly with his manual screwdriver.

The bus doors open and a young woman with frizzy hair steps on board.

“Excuse me?” she asks loudly. “Is there a doctor on this bus?”

“Yes!” the Doctor shouts happily, waving as he runs down the length of the bus. “Yes, I’m a doctor – _the_ Doctor even. How can I help?”

“There’s someone out there who needs a doctor,” the lady replies, pointing off the bus and down the road. “It sounded urgent.”

“Urgent, I like it. I’ll be back in two shakes of a Judoon’s tail.”

“Judoon don’t _have_ tails,” Cat sighs, following the Doctor off the bus.

He spies a figure at the end of the street, silhouetted in the rain.

“Hello, there!” he calls out, waving his arms. “I heard you were looking for a doctor?”

There’s no reply.

“My name’s the Doctor. I’m here to help.”

Thunder rumbles. But not above their heads, Cat realizes in horror.

A weapon blast shoots right past them, completely obliterating a postbox. Thunder rumbles again as the Doctor drags Cat back onto the bus.

“Drive, Dolores!” the Doctor shouts, “Drive!”

“Oh, thanks for that, dear – I was planning on just sitting here like a duck,” Dolores fires back, shifting the bus into gear.

There’s another rumble and a blast takes the left wing-mirror clean off.

“That’s not coming out of my wages,” Dolores mutters as she puts her foot down and speeds the lot of them to safety.

The Doctor runs to the back of the bus, where the metal orb has now started to glow. He’s muttering to himself again. Cat stares at him in disbelief.

“How come it’s impossible to go _anywhere_ with you without getting shot at?” she asks.

“I dunno,” the Doctor replies with a shrug. “Let’s call it a mystery of the universe. Now, Cat, I need you to listen to me very carefully.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is an ongoing series which will include some flash-fiction, some short stories and some longer adventures. If you like you can send a prompt with a time/place/Doctor/companion suggestion to my tumblr [theplatinthehat](https://tumblr.com/theplatinthehat) and we'll see what I can come up with. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this story.


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